Practical Utopias: America as Techno-Fix Nation

Techno-fixes are short-term, avowedly practical proposed solutions to hitherto unsolvable social, economic, and social problems. They bypass traditional obstacles such as poverty, overpopulation, and religious beliefs to transform communities, countries, and regions. They reflect an almost blind faith in the power of technology as panacea. This article puts America's commitment to techno-fixes even today in historical and contemporary perspective. Techno-fixes are not uniquely American, but America has since its colonial origins exemplified techno-fixes more than any other nation. However, the term itself dates only to the 1960s. The article cites examples of techno-fixes and examines the continuing belief in techno-fixes amid the at best partial success of some of those examples and the utter failure of others. Yet, like all serious utopias, all of those techno-fixes are invaluable in illuminating the times and contexts in which they were formulated and promoted.